Blogs

Perched on the edge of the pit as we are here at Seattle mag, we never tire of watching the action–-giant, weird-looking machines shoving around enormous piles of muck; huge, Mad Men-contraptions thundering around behind twisted bales of metal; and what is that curtain hanging from the shreds of the Viaduct? Some days, I can barely contain my excitement, especially when something new is happening (like over at the 520 project, but more on that in a minute).

You know that ye ol’ contest where you have to guess how many marbles are in the jar? It is always surprisingly difficult (I once guessed 490 for a jar of 200,000 marbles, but math is not my strong suit) and the results can be somewhat astounding. Well, welcome to our fashion version! The question: How many hours will go into creating one couture ball gown for Luly Yang’s upcoming April 27th “A Monarch’s Tale” couture show?

Cake and ice cream go together like PB&J, but until now none of our local cupcake shops made both: you'd have to get a cupcake here and then get the ice cream there. Not for long! Demand, meet supply: Cupcake Royale is launching a cupcake-inspired ice cream line this summer. Flavors will include Salted Ganache with Oregon hazelnut brittle: Bananza, with roasted bananas, caramel and fudge; Whiskey Maple with "bacon crack"; and pistachio with honey-nut nougat (yum!).

I love lookbooks; it’s like getting prettily wrapped surprise your inbox. I was reminded of this today while scrolling through WyattOrr’s new books (more on those later, but exciting news: Seamless in Seattle winners Liise Wyatt and Karly Orr have released spring and fall collections under their collective label.) While I can’t share that one until they finish revamping their website (soon! I promise!), it did remind me of the other looks I’ve been stashing away. Here are three favorites:

Poetry should be celebrated year round, but it’s good, I think, to have one month of focused celebration, where we can gather with friends (and a glass in hand) and toast poets near and far, new and old, tall and short, formalist and free-verse. But what cocktails are appropriate when honoring poets? I recommend the following.

Well, well, well!
We may have just two nominees to Portland's three in the running for this year's regional James Beard race (the winner will be announced in May), but lookie there: Food & Wine's list of the Best New Chefs of 2012 is out and two local chefs made the cut!

Wittlebee, a new "mom-commerce" site, has solved two major problems moms and dads face when outfitting their kids.
Just imagine a business model that combines personal clothes shopping with CSA box-o-produce delivery.
Red Tricycle has the full story.

Fans of bold fringe theater will be glad to know: an arts group has been selected to work in residence at the performance spaces that will be a part of "12th Avenue Arts," or the exciting development currently planned to replace the Seattle Police Department parking lot near 12th Avenue and Pine Street (the Capitol Hill blog has been reporting on it regularly if you're not quite up to speed).

Saturday marked the 7th annual Seattle Edible Book Fest.
A few of our editorial interns attended and participated. Here are (at left and below) some standouts among "All the Pretty Courses."
Eh? Eh?
...eh.
Punning isn't as easy as it looks.
"Butchering the Art of French Cooking" - Cath Carine

Thanks to an award from the Wallace Foundation, Seattle Opera is producing its first ever simulcast.
What that means: While typical opera goers are filing into McCaw Hall for the opening night performance of Seattle Opera's Madama Butterfly, thousands more Seattleites will take over Key Arena to witness the exact same performance via live HD video broadcast—for free!

I won't say it seemed like an easy task in the beginning, but it turns out I had no idea what I'd be getting myself into.
"Let's come up with Seattle's 50 most powerful food people: companies, chefs, farmers, purveyors and so on," someone said. This was last fall, when our April Best Restaurants issue (on newsstands now) was in its infancy, when we were bantying our ideas about.

Ballard's in the midst of a barbecue boom: Recent newcomers Bitterroot, RoRo (which took over the old Zesto's location), and the Boar's Nest (which replaced the short-lived Seattle Burger Co.) join long timer Smokin' Pete's.

When frosting has been cleaned from tired little faces and sugar-charged playmates have been sent on their way, what remains at your house or party place is this: a small mountain of disposable paper products galore, from streamers and plates to pinatas and pizza boxes, all destined for the trash after one-time use. Before you give in to the birthday carbon footprint stomp, read on.